Recognition
by Lady1Venus
Summary: Set at the end of season 1. After years of trying to get her Captain to recognize her hard work, the day finally comes when he does.


**Recognition**

_Author's Notes: Trade with MidnaVocaloid01 of a Bleach Art for a Bleach one-shot. Shadow belongs to MidnaVocaloid01_

Hearing about her friend being ordered by Central 46 to go to the World of the Living with his Captain to arrest a long time friend of his was not news one would expect to hear. Then again being the Third Seat to Squad 6, it was part of the job to hear when the Lieutenant and Captain of the Squad are set out for assignment. That meant it was then pushed down to the Third Seat to cover things under the Captain was to return.

Shadow Hachia, a long time friend to Renji and one who went to the academy with, sat in the Lieutenant's office of Squad 6, dealing with whatever needed to be done the Squad. She was someone who was very well respected. She had long black hair, framing around her face and dark eyes. The Shihakusho she wore was the traditional style, but like many other Soul Reapers who wore something extra, she wore a black choker around her neck. She considered herself short compared to many others around her, especially to her Captain and Lieutenant considering she only stood 5'6".

Shadow came from a long line of a noble family. However, sometime ago her family were nearly wiped out, leaving only a few remaining left. With the family so few, she was the only family member now who was a Soul Reaper. The rest stayed off the military work, wanting to try and re-establish the noble line. The type of noblewoman she was, was higher than many noble Soul Reapers but was under the noble status of the Four Great Noble Houses.

As she wrote up her last report, word was quick to get around of her Captain and Lieutenant arriving back in the Soul Society with the arrested officer from Squad 13. Wanting to greet her Captain back, Shadow stood and immediately left for the Senkaimon. She had to see for herself what this criminal looked like, knowing she was an old friend to Renji.

She arrived just in time as the Senkaimon opened, and three Soul Reapers exited. One Soul Reaper was in a Gigai and she was the shortest of the three.

"Welcome back Captain Kuchiki," Shadow greeted with a respectful bow. She had great admiration of her own Captain, Rukia's brother, and seeing him with his sister showed the Captain was putting his loyalty to his duty before family.

His gray eyes turned to the voice for only a moment seeing it was only his Third Seat. With a nod, he silently gave her his thanks for the greeting.

Shadow turned to Renji. "And to you as well Lieutenant."

Renji looked at his friend as mixed emotions slammed into him. There standing in front of him was the very woman who helped him to pass the Kido class. He wasn't very good with Kido but with her help, allowed him to be able to pass at least. He didn't want to be like a few of his other friends he knew who didn't know any Kido at all and preferred it that way. But also standing beside him was the woman who he grew up with in the Rukon District. He was arresting his childhood friend in front of his academy days friend.

"Shadow," he greeted finally. "Prompt as ever I see."

She smiled, knowing full well their Captain was listening. Now she knew what Rukia Kuchiki looked like, the Captain's sister. "Always. Life of a Third Seat is demanding but someone has to do it."

Renji shook his head just as three other members from Squad 6 arrived. He looked to the men before snapping to Shadow. "Did you ask for them to show up as well?"

"Of course," she said. "It's not proper for the Captain or Lieutenant to secure the prisoner and put her in a cell."

"Agree," Byakuya icely stated. "Rukia Kuchiki, as Captain of Squad 6, I hereby state your immediate surrender and will be escorted by these officers to a suitable cell until such time is appointed to your sentencing."

Shadow quietly watched as Captain Kuchiki gave a formal addressing to his sister's arrest. She noted the small woman lower her head, accepting her fate. Of course from the corner of her eye, she noted her friend was slightly in disbelief.

Renji watched as the three officers shackled Rukia's hands behind her back and then led her towards Squad 6. The child-sized woman never said any words nor resisted. She completely cooperated. Then again she watched in horror as her own brother killed her newfound friend. She had heard about his amazing power and now she finally was able to witness it. Renji suspected had an idea she wished she never learnt of her brother's power.

Shadow stepped out of the way as the three officers took Rukia away followed by Captain Kuchiki. She kept her head held high, knowing he wouldn't look at her. Her attention was on her friend, wondering what he would now say. If she were paying more attention she would have noticed Captain Kuchiki's eyes drifted to her form until he was fully passed her. He then continued.

Reaching out, Shadow grabbed Renji's arm. "I saw that look," she said when their Captain was no longer in hearing range.

Renji looked at her. "What look?"

She released his arm, folding her arms across her chest. "Oh please, I'm not stupid. It's tearing you up about arresting your friend. Admit it."

Renji snapped around, throwing his arms up. "Ok! I don't like it! Happy!"

She quirked a brow to his immediate abruptness. "All I wanted was for you to admit it."

"What do you really care? I mean you follow the rules to the letter," he retorted.

"Renji, I care because I'm your friend and I bet it hurts inside. It's got to be tough to bring in your best friend since childhood."

With a sigh, Renji gave her a hard look before his face fell. "I'm sorry. But you know we have to put our personal feelings aside when we have to arrest someone and Rukia did break the law. She gave her powers to a human."

"She did and that's top level offence. She could be executed for this. It's up to Central 46 to decide though."

He shook his head. "Yeah. Perhaps they could be a little lenient on her. She did claim she only did it to save the life of the human and his family."

"That's no excuse Renji and you know that. Rules are the rules. They are there for a reason."

He clenched his fists. "Damn it! Why did she have to be so selfless!?"

"Because that's who she is," she said.

He snorted. "Sometimes I wish you were more like her."

He turned away, heading towards the barracks, not wanting to listen anymore. As she watched his retreating back, she did not know someone was approaching her from behind.

"Why does life have to be so difficult?" she said to herself with a heavy sigh.

"I couldn't help but overhear part of your conversation," a voice said from behind her.

She jumped, startled never realizing someone was behind her. Swiftly turning, she found herself face to face with the Captain of Squad 5, Sosuke Aizen.

Putting a hand to her heart, she gave a slight gasp for breath. "Captain Aizen, you startled me."

"I'm sorry, that wasn't my intention," he said in his usual soft voice. "I am curious though about why you would question your Lieutenant over his feelings of arresting an old time friend."

Shadow looked at the Captain wearing the glasses. She had always known him to be soft spoken and often would appear when one least expected. "Forgive me Captain, I don't mean any disrespect but it can come off as being rude when one listens to a conversation."

He gave her a gentle smile. He could see she wasn't going to answer his question. "That it is. With your outspoken attitude at times, it's a wonder you're not in Squad 11. What makes Squad 6 so special? You're even strong enough to keep with Captain Zaraki's men. I know it's uncommon to have women in his Squad, but there are a few."

"Captain Zaraki ideals are a bit unethical I think. I follow the rules and sometimes Captain Zaraki will go out of his way to break the rules, though in the end he gets the job done and everyone looks away like nothing happened. That's not my idea of idealistic."

"True, Captain Zaraki does have a barbaric mind at times, but he is listed as one of the strongest," Aizen commented.

"Yes. Captain Kuchiki on the other hand, is amazing. He has a self-control that many, not even Captains can compare to. Captain Kuchiki never gets angry and he's the 28th Head Leader of his clan."

"It would seem you hold a high respect for him."

"I do," she agreed. "He can even go and arrest his sister without showing any remorse. That takes a lot of talent."

"But yet he arrested a member of his own family and you criticize your friend for showing restraint."

Her eyes narrowed, not liking the direction the conversation was going. "Captain Kuchiki has spent many years being able to learn self-control. Ren…Lieutenant Abarai does not have a lot of self-control so I wanted to know what he truly felt."

Aizen nodded. "And you wouldn't be a good friend to him if you didn't pull out his relentless feelings about having to arrest his long time friend."

"Captain Aizen, he was once in your Squad after he graduated from the academy. You know yourself how he can go off the deep end. You eventually had him transferred to Squad 11. And now he's in Squad 6."

"This is true," Aizen agreed. "I firmly believed he was better off in Squad 11. Never in my wildest dreams did I think he would become strong enough to make Lieutenant."

"No one is certain of anything they do, or where they will end up," Shadow said.

"This is very much true," he agreed. "So I take it you're happy where you are?"

"Yes, very. Working with Captain Kuchiki is well worth it. He doesn't let things bother him and he leads his Squad with a level head."

"And it doesn't bother you knowing he's a head leader of one of the great Noble clans?"

"I think that adds to the appeal of his structure. He leads his family and having to lead a Squad just comes to him naturally."

Aizen nodded. He knew many women in the Seireitei thought Byakuya Kuchiki was a strong leader and quite handsome too.

She paused, glancing around before looking back upon the Captain of Squad 5. "Forgive me Captain, but I do need to tend to a few things. With the arrest of Rukia Kuchiki, Captain Kuchiki wasn't around…"

"And you need to report to him of anything that happened while he was away," Aizen finished for her. "I understand."

He watched as she turned away from him, leaving to go back to her squad. A smile formed on his lips. If only she knew the real reason for Rukia's arrest. But that wasn't all that was going to happen to the short woman. There were big plans for her and everything was now falling into place and Aizen himself was the man who was pulling all the strings. Soon everyone would be well distracted and wouldn't realize until too late in what was really going on.

Soon the façade of being a considerate person would no longer be necessary. Soon he'd be able to take control and rise up above the gods for he thought himself to be a god. If only anyone knew how truly powerful he really was. Then again, it was more his Zanpakuto in which gave him his high power. Needing to get the next part of his plan underway, Aizen turned away, heading towards the chambers where Central 46 sat.

As he walked, his mind thought to the woman who was Captain Kuchiki's third seat. He truly believed she would have faired better if she had been in Zaraki's Squad. She was strong and could last throughout a fight, but yet she refused to go. He often wondered if her real reason of not wanting to be in the warrior Squad was because of her Captain?

Aizen could see the woman admired her Captain and sought out to get praised by him. He found that quite amusing in seeing her try so hard but always fail. Shadow would never find the recognition from her Captain, no matter hard she tried.

* * *

Entering the office, Shadow saw Captain Kuchiki sitting at his desk, eyes averted to something on his desk. In his hand was a brush and it was slightly moving. Taking a wild guess, she had a feeling he was writing his own report of his mission in the World of the Living.

"Is there something I can do for you Third Seat Hachia?" he asked, not bothering to look up.

Not startled by his sudden voice or about knowing it was her, she stepped further into the room. In her hand was a file. While Renji and the Captain were gone, she used the Lieutenant's desk to do what work she needed while managing the Squad. Now the Captain was back, she had to give him her report.

"I wish to give you my report while you were away," she said in a very professional manner.

He stopped writing, setting the brush down and looked up at her, waiting. He clearly could see she indeed was dropping off her report of her command of the Squad. But that wasn't all. He truly was amazed in how dedicated she was to her work. She didn't take crap from people and follow the law just as loyal as he. She had never done anything stupid, like many others in his Squad had done.

She stood in front of his desk, holding out the file for him to take, which he took with a nod. "I am pleased to say nothing went out of order while you were gone. The team who was sent out to track down a few Hollows just outside West Rukon reported back with a successful mission."

"Good," he replied. He could see she had more to say and waited patiently for her to say something. He set the file down on the desk, while waiting.

"Captain, may I speak freely?" she asked suddenly after taking a deep breath. Normally people wouldn't ask to speak freely, but she had to tell him how she felt.

"Go on," he said.

"Sir, when you first offered me this position, I was completely thrilled. To work along side a great Captain. You know I come from a noble family, but the numbers are very few now. In reality I wasn't supposed to given permission to take the academy entrance exam, but somehow I managed to get in and here I am."

"Yes, it was a surprise to me as well," he finally replied.

"It would be nice to know who helped me to get in, but I suppose I shouldn't worry about that. I'm here and working under you is great."

He nodded. "Shadow, I have noticed lately how well you can take charge when myself and Renji are called away. You have impressive leadership skills and perhaps one day you could learn Bankai and become a Captain when a position becomes available."

She smiled at his words. He was praising her. For so long she tried to get him to notice her and finally all her hard work had finally paid off. "Thank you, sir. Your words mean a lot to him." She knew he wasn't often a man of many words, but there were times when he would surprise people.

She had heard the long ago tales of his younger years when he would produce a quick temper. There was even one former Captain who had now been missing now for 100 years who he would get very agitated about, but what was that Captain's name again? She couldn't remember.

"I have chosen well," he continued, breaking her thoughts. "For my Third Seat."

Her eyes widened for a fraction of second. Not only was he praising her but also he was glad she was in his Squad as a seated officer, this was literally a dream come true. She took a deep breath. "I am honoured to be your Third Seat."

"Perhaps there is something you can do for me."

She blinked. "Yes, sir?"

"Renji has gone to Squad 4 for medical needs. I wish for you to go and be sure the prisoner is secured in her cell. She will be remaining here until her sentence has been given."

"Of course Captain," she said with a slight bow. "I shall also travel to Squad 4 and request the aid of one of their officers to be sure the prisoner is fed and her cell is kept clean. I know you like your Squad to be neat and tidy at all times."

"I appreciate that," he said. No longer wanting to have a discussion, he picked up his brush and went back to writing up his report for the Head Captain. "You are dismissed Third Seat Hachia."

She gave another bow before turning away from her Captain. The second her back was completely to him, she broke out in a wide grin. She was extremely happy to hear those words from the man she admired most. She even thought he was the most beautiful man in the Soul Society and his status as being one of the Four Great Noble Houses did not add to that attraction. She would think he was attractive even if he was once a Rukon District citizen.

Once reaching for the door, she forcefully removed the grin off her face. She could not let anyone see how happy she was about getting praised by the Captain. That was her little secret and hers alone. She didn't have to share it and wouldn't. His words actually, completely made her day.

No sooner was the door closed; a shiver ran up her spine. She knew that power. She didn't have to look to see who was walking towards her. Her heart hammered for a few moments before she forcefully slowed it down, not wanting him to see his very presence bothered her. She had great self-control.

"You're looking as cheerful as ever," said the voice belonging to the man she didn't like well. Gin Ichimaru. "Are you sure Captain Kuchiki is treating you well?"

"No more than usual," she retorted, making sure he was not to know her Captain just praised her. "So what matter is your visit this time, Ichimaru?"

"Come, come. You should always address me as Captain," his wide grin never faltered. Of course she never knew a time when he frowned, but she knew he could.

"At least I'm not referring you to your first name," she replied. "But you didn't answer my question."

"Taking charge as always, I guess that's why Captain Kuchiki likes having you around," he taunted, trying to get under skin. He knew he could, but sometimes she was a rock and couldn't be fooled but other times he could irritate her.

She sighed, knowing he wasn't going to answer her. Why did he always show up out of the blue? This wasn't even his Squad.

"If you'll excuse me, the Captain has given me an order and I must follow through."

"Oh yes, the forever puppy. Captain Kuchiki does like to order his men around."

"Actually, I offered," she said, keeping her anger in check. She knew he was purposely trying to annoy her and she wasn't going to let him bother her. "Good day, Ichimaru."

She made her way down the hall, allowing herself to calm down, remembering the words her Captain said to her. He admired her loyalty. Thinking that brought a smile back on her face and she continued her way to the basement where the cells were located.


End file.
